Fannie Mae

US shareholder-owned company which helps banks fund mortgages for lower-income and first time homebuyers -- its mission is to ensure the "secondary" mortgage market.. Officially the Federal National Mortgage Association. Founded by the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration in 1938 as part of the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae split off into a profitable, private corporation in 1968. In 1970, its stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.